Eyeworld

140 | EYEWORLD | APRIL 2019 I N THE PRACTICE Contact information Parrish: samanthap@revisioneyes.com Phillips: kphillips@impactbnd.com Santora: Rachel.santora@advicemedia.com Whitley: andrew@amplifyonline.com 3. How often should we post? Once or twice week is a sweet spot if you can do that, Mr. Phillips said. Start with a realistic schedule that you can follow consistently. "Twelve posts spread out over a 6-month period is better than 12 posts in 1 month, followed by 5 months of nothing," Mr. Whitley said. 4. Who should write the blog? Traditionally, an in-house marketing person or a medical writer/marketing writer at a marketing agency will write blog posts. A medical writer at Advice Media writes blogs for Central Florida Eye Institute, said Rachel Santora. Another option is a freelance health/medical journalist. A trained writer who is also familiar with health and medical terminology will ensure expertise that's written so lay readers can understand information, Ms. Santora said. However, Google's algorithms recently updated to put much less favor on blogs written by anonymous authors, especially in the medical field, Mr. Phillips said. Google now favors blogs from credible medical sources who have bios beside their stories. Practices still may consider using ghostwriters for their blogs but should have a byline from their on-staff medical experts. 5. How important are keywords? Keywords can help attract site visitors, but you should focus even more on quality content, Mr. Phillips said. Keywords can be valuable to include in your article titles or subheads. "Indicating keywords and writing a concise meta-description will help the blog rank higher in organic search results when someone searches for a topic related to your blog," Ms. Parrish said. Make sure your blog posts also include the name of your town or other area you serve, Ms. Santora said. One caution shared by Mr. Whitley: "Oc- casionally as a web developer, I see companies ranking for random search terms that have noth- ing to do with their industry … and they are now getting search traffic that doesn't benefit them," he said. If you stick to article topics related to eyecare, you shouldn't have to worry about using the "wrong" keywords. 6. How can we attract more readers? Sharing your posts on social media is an easy way 1. Cost 2. "Best of" lists 3. Comparisons 4. Pros and cons 5. Benefits/advantages of 6. Problems (your problems) 7. Problems (their problems) 8. How-to/tutorials 9. Correlation/causation 10. Definition and description 11. Types/classifications 12. Qualifications 13. Laws/regulations/requirements 14. Myths and misconceptions 15. Reviews 16. Ideas/trends 17. Timeline Source: Kevin Phillips, "17 business blog topics your audience wants you to write," www.impactbnd.com/ blog/business-blog-topics-list 17 ideas for business blog topics to bring eyes to your blog posts. Also, consider offering a free e-book, coupon, or some other easy giveaway that requires site visitors to give their email address. You can share blog posts as part of that marketing effort, Mr. Whitley said. You should also work with your website de- veloper to track your web traffic, but be patient. It can take about 6 months to see a real difference. "People think their posts will go viral, but it's not going to happen," Mr. Phillips said. continued from page 138 Financial interests Parrish: None Phillips: None Santora: None Whitley: None

• Blank Page
• Blank Page (1)